Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome involving tumor metastasis. Case report

This report is an example of tumor metastasis to the temporomandibular joint and its effect on pain, restriction of jaw movement, and the subsequent inability of the patient to function normally. Neoplasm is not the usual etiology of myofascial pain dysfunctionsyndrome and the muscle sparm component of this patient's jaw dysfunction was emphasizedby the relief of symptoms from the use of symptomatic reversible type therapy (tranquilizer, muscle relaxant, and heat). There was an overlay of stress-tension factors in this case history that contributed to the muscle spasm symptoms of the patient. There canbe other etiological factors in jaw dysfunction associated with TMJ pathology such asdevelopmental anomalies, trauma, arthritis, and neoplasm, but as a group they comprise only about 5% of TMJ dysfunction problems (D.M. Laskin, personal communication).